NUH responds to BBC Panorama

We are committed to making improvements to your maternity services and, while we know there is more to do, we know that we are on the right path to improvement.  

Colleagues across the Trust are working hard every day to create the best environment and to provide the best care for babies, mothers and families in our hospitals. Through our Maternity Improvement Programme (MIP), we have reintroduced our Home Birthing service, significantly increased staff numbers, feedback from patient surveys has improved and is consistently positive. We have also heavily invested in our services, launching a refurbished Fetal Medicine Unit and new Neonatal Unit. We are also fully compliant with the Maternity Incentive Scheme safety actions, for the second year running, these actions are evidence-based safety actions designed to improve maternity and neonatal care. 

In 2023, the independent regulator of healthcare in England, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) looked at maternity services at Queen’s Medical Centre and Nottingham City Hospital and increased the rating at both sites from inadequate to requires improvement. In March 2025 the CQC recognised further improvements and increased our ‘effective’ ratings to ‘good’. In our latest inspection report, published in March 2026 the Trust’s overall rating remains as ‘Requires Improvement’ for maternity services. 

We believe that the CQC report accurately reflects our services, and you can read the full report on the CQC website to find out what they found. 

We will continue to strive to give the women and families of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire the maternity service they deserve, and to ensure we have the right environment, culture and support for them and our staff.  

We would always encourage you to speak to your lead clinician in the first instance, however, if you are still concerned you can also contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALs) by calling 0800 183 0204 or emailing nuhnt.PALS@nhs.net 

NUH is currently the subject of an Independent Maternity Review being led by Donna Ockenden, due to be published on 24 June and the documentary explores the failings in our services which may be covered as part of the review.  
We made a public commitment in 2023 to engage in an open and honest way with the families involved in the Independent Maternity Review, as well as all women and families within our maternity services. We are determined to meet that commitment and we do not take the families’ engagement for granted.  
We have engaged fully in the Review and will be committed to the recommendations that it will make. Following the review, we are planning for robust and independent oversight, which will include representation from both affected families and staff, to ensure we deliver on those recommendations and more.

Our maternity services continue to go through a transformation process. As a Trust, we are committed to learning and improving when things go wrong.

We have already made significant improvements to our maternity services, including:

• Introduction of a 24/7 Maternity Advice Line, allowing anyone using our services to speak to a dedicated midwife about concerns before or after birth
• Recruitment of staff with specialist skills to support patients with complex maternity needs
• Improved staffing levels across wards, including the creation of new roles and an increase in the number of midwives
• Improved staff retention and the launch of a preceptorship programme to support newly qualified midwives
• A 24-hour homebirth service for those who meet the criteria
• Separation of urgent care from planned appointments to ensure care is timely and prioritised by clinical need
• Introduction of a maternity digital clinical system (BadgerNet) to support continuity of care across the maternity pathway
• Establishment of an Inclusive Maternity Working Group, including:
  • Introduction of the Cardmedic translation app
  • Community outreach with underrepresented groups
  • Bilingual classes for Urdu-speaking women
  • Translated videos and patient information
  • Additional cultural training for staff
• Listening events with Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities, including engagement with the Muslim Women’s Network and other underrepresented groups
• Improved staff engagement through stronger governance processes, including:
  • Clear ward-to-board reporting
  • Direct engagement with the Chair and Chief Executive
  • Monthly staff engagement events
  • Maternity and neonatal safety champion walkabouts
• Action to reduce inequalities through the launch of a community-based Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) clinic

Recent feedback and external assessments show progress in our maternity services:

• March 2024: Feedback from women and families through the Friends and Family Test showed that 97% of respondents rated their experience as good or very good.
• September 2023: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) increased the overall rating for maternity services from “Inadequate” to “Requires Improvement” at City Hospital and Queen’s Medical Centre (QMC), the first improvement since 2020.
• September 2023: The CQC improved the Trust’s “Well-led” rating from “Inadequate” to “Requires Improvement”.
• January 2024: CQC warning notices for maternity services and leadership were lifted.
• February 2024: The latest CQC maternity survey results showed significant improvement across areas since 2022.
• 2024: The CQC Maternity Survey confirmed that surveyed areas had significantly improved compared with 2022.
• March 2025: The CQC reported that maternity services remained rated “Requires Improvement”, but the “Effective” domain improved to “Good”.